Him the doctor
by be93
Summary: It all started in a café. Just a normal café. Nothing special, just a café. But it didn’t need to be special, he made it special. Him. The man who changed my life, who made me who I am. Him; The doctor......
1. Chapter 1

It all started in a café

**I've been working on this for nearly a year, in my head of course, and I have decided to write it down, hope you enjoy!! It's set in the future, though bear in mind I started it before series 4 but later in links in with it……make sense??**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor who in any way shape or form, I do however own the character of Annie.**

It all started in a café. Just a normal café. Nothing special, just a café. But it didn't need to be special, he made it special. Him. The man who changed my life, who made me who I am. Him; The doctor.

The door opened and he entered, a funny man, really tall, wore a suit and his hair….well. He walked in to the café, a stood at the till, he saw a bell and hit it with his hand, and then she jumped up from underneath.

"Hello" he said with a big grin on his face, he peered at her name tag "Hello Annie" she smiled at him and he smiled back. "I'll have a latte please"

"Make that two"

He wiped his head round "Martha Jones!! Good to see you, well that's two lattes, my shout" he said as he winked at her, he counted the change into his hand and Annie held out her hand, still staring at Martha. He tipped the correct money into her hand and put his hand on top, like a seal, she turned her head as she withdrew her hand quickly. She looked at him and he was looking back.

"Everything alright doctor?" Martha asked

He snapped out of his trance "yes, yes just an electric shock, funny things them!" but as he walked over to the empty table with Martha he gazed back and looked at her, their eyes met, 'cos she's been looking at him all this time.

But then her boss came and hit her head and just like that they snapped out of it, she put the money in the till, and went to make the lattes. So the doctor talked to Martha, but every now and then he looked over his shoulder, just for a second, to see her; Annie.


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you for all the reviews I've got so far

**Thank you for all the reviews I've got so far!!**

**This chapter is dedicated to Abboz, who always leaves me my first review!! :)**

Balancing the tray on her hand Annie walked over to their table and gently put it down.

"Two lattes for you"

"Thank you" replied the doctor, he gave her a huge grin and she smiled back before turning to put the tray back.

Once she got back to the till she took another order, made 3 cappuccinos and cleaned the work surface until it gleamed, and all this time the doctor watched her intently.

Martha looked at him and smiled, he turned around to face her, "What?"

"Nothing….." she said before sipping her drink. She looked over to Annie, taking yet another order, she watched, with a look of sadness, as Annie was given a bag full of rubbish and clearly ordered to go and put it round the back. As Annie went to fulfil her task, Martha grabbed her bag.

"I'm just popping to the loo; don't go before I come back"

"Wouldn't dream of it!"

She went through the door, and walked down to the door marked 'Ladies' but instead of going through it she took a sharp right and pushed open the door marked 'Private'.

**Oooo…… **

**I think I'll need a few more reviews before next chapter!!**


	3. Chapter 3

Ok so here is the next chapter……

**Ok so here is the next chapter…….hope you like it and thanks to everyone who has reviewed this so far :D**

Martha opened the door and smiled as she saw Annie; just the person she had been looking for, she was struggling to get the rubbish bag into the large bin. Martha walked over to her.

"Need a hand?"

Annie turned to face her. "Its ok thanks" she said as she successfully dropped the bag into the large bin. "Anyway you're not allowed out here!"

Martha grinned "I wanted to talk to you."

"Me?"

"Yes, I watched you; you seemed to be very run down"

"I'm new. I get all the jobs and everyone else is calm and works as and when they want."

"Ahhh, life as a newbie. Why don't you quit?"

"Quit? I have to work, this is the only thing I am qualified to do over here and it barely covers rent as it is!"

"Ever thought of travelling?"

Annie let out a laugh "Travelling? I don't have the money"

"Hmm……sometimes you can go for free"

"I don't enter the lottery! Anyway you need to go and finish your drink, I could get in real trouble if they found out you were here."

"I'll make sure you don't"

"Right….just go!" She shooed Martha out of the door but Martha just grinned and laughed.

She sat back down at her table and took a slurp from her drink

"Why do women take so long in the loo?"

Martha smiled "I got distracted."

"With what?"

"Annie"

"Right"

"Do you think she'd make good companion material?"

"Hm? What's that supposed to mean?"

Martha sighed, he was amazingly clever most of the time, but completely clueless when something was right in front of his nose.

"Do you think she'd be any good at being an assistant in your travels?"

**Duh du duh duh…..what will he say??…… review and you'll find out!!**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

**Ok, so I know I probably should have waited until I had written more down, but it was a good ending to a chapter and I promise that from now on the chapters will be longer. promise :) !**

"Me? Her? In the Tardis travelling together?"

Martha grinned and nodded "Yes doctor!"

He smiled back at her "But Martha I hardly know her"

She smirked "Never stopped you before!"

He looked over at Annie pouring more coffees and looking more and more frazzled, he nodded "You're right! Why not? I mean what could go wrong, well you know unless she was a species related to the daleks, but to be honest…" he paused "I think I would have realised by now"

Martha laughed "How modest of you!"

He just grinned back at her, lifted his cup and glugged the remainder of his latté down in one go.

"Ready then Doctor Jones?"

"As ever!"

He got up and walked over to the till and banged the bell again.

"You know" Annie said as she came over "You don't have to press that every time you come over here"

"I know, I just think its fun!"

Annie sighed and shook her head.

"So….Annie how would you like to come travelling?"

"She" she said pointing at Martha "Already asked me that, and I said I don't have enough money to go anywhere!"

The doctor looked at her with a cheeky grin on his face "oh, well this doesn't cost a thing!"

"Do you think I'm mad, mr……"

"The doctor"

"Dr…."

"Oh, no just the doctor"

Annie stared at him.

"So, what do you reckon, fancy coming with me on a trip, wherever you fancy?"

Annie grinned and nodded "Yes"

"Good, well throw in the towel, as they say, and let's get going!"

Annie put her hands behind her back and untied her apron; she took it over her head and placed it, in a heap, on the counter. She made her way round and stood next to the doctor, they grinned at each other and headed for the door, Martha walked behind them, smiling to herself.

"Oi! Annie!" her boss called "Where do you think you're going?"

"Travelling!" she said laughing.

So together they walked out of the café, the café where it all began. The café where my life changed. And I suppose it was that moment that I knew my life was never going to be the same again.

**Ok so that is it for the first bit, I suppose, of the story, and from now on chapters will be longer (and therefore more spaced out) and we get into the more exciting bit! Though I really like that beginning bit! Please review!! :D**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**Thank you for the reviews, though it would be nice to see a few more, hint hint! As promised it's getting better (well, more interesting!) and longer, so please read and review.**

We walked down the street and up an unused alley, I smiled. "This" he announced "Is the Tardis" I nodded and grinned.

Martha smiled at Annie she looked so happy, she thought slightly sadly, that she had no idea that her life was about to be turned upside down. For the first time she felt guilty about suggesting this, and her mind started to race with all the terrible things that could happen to this young woman.

The doctor delved into his pocket and withdrew his key, he slotted it into the lock and smiled as it turned smoothly and the door flung open. He held it for Annie and beckoned for her to enter. She smiled as she tentatively stepped inside and stood in front of the controls and looked around her and she smiled, she twirled around and took in everything.

The doctor looked at her; he was confused; she looked unaltered, like she walked into a Tardis everyday; like it was the complete norm. He sauntered up to her as Martha entered and gently closed the door behind her. He stood next to her as she stopped twirling and began to walk steadily around the controls, her hand sweeping along the side.

"You're supposed to say 'It's bigger on the inside'" he said.

Annie turned around and looked at him. "I thought that would be stating the obvious"

Martha grinned and suddenly felt at ease, she felt that she had made the right decision, she knew that these two would get on like a house on fire.

"So where d'ya fancy going? Somewhere exotic?" the doctor said.

"Exotic" Annie repeated nodding "Exotic sounds good" she smiled.

"Alright then!" his head turned round to face Martha. And his smile lessened. "You're not joining us are you?" it was said as a question but meant as more as a statement.

She smile and shook her head; an odd combination she thought. "I can't, you know I can't! I have my life here and besides you two will have fun on your own!"

"Well, goodbye Doctor Jones!"

Annie walked over to the woman whom she had known for barely an hour. She hugged her and whispered "Thank you". Martha smiled to herself and broke away from the girl's embrace. "You two have fun, and no doubt I'll see you soon"

"No doubt!" the doctor replied.

Martha walked down the little slope and opened the door, she waved, almost half-heartedly and then, as if she had finally made her mind up, walked out and closed the door behind her and sighed. She nodded slightly and walked off, on her way to her next hospital shift.

"So….where were we? Ah yes! Exotic, though to be fair, with me anywhere's exotic!"

Annie laughed, "How about the Victorians?!" She exclaimed "I've always wanted to see if I could make her highness smile!"

The doctor's face fell. "We can't go there; I…erm…kind of got banned from that era."

"You got banned!...Seriously?"

The doctor nodded "Me and my…um….my…friend got into a bit of trouble, despite the fact we saved her majesty's life from a werewolf"

Annie just stared at him.

The doctor grinned "So anywhere else you fancy going to? You know what, let's let the Tardis decide!"

"It can choose?"

"Yeah well…..hit a few buttons, pull a lever or two, and Voila!" the doctor said as he yanked down on the nearest lever and the Tardis began its familiar whirring.

Then both passengers were flung across the floor.

"What is going on?" Annie screamed.

"Blimey. Well its gets excited now and then. Sorry" The doctor said regaining balance and grabbing hold of the edge of the control panel, he offered a hand out to Annie and she grabbed it, though once she was up she quickly let go. The doctor looked at her quizzically.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Oh no, nothing. Shall we see where we've landed?" he said with a huge grin on his face.

"Well we're hardly going to stay in here are we?" she said.

The doctor grinned and grabbed his coat, flinging it over his shoulders and slotting his arms through the appropriate holes. He wrenched open the door and stepped outside, Annie followed him; the doctor turned and locked the door behind him. And then moved around to see where he'd taken Annie……..

**Ok, apologies, I didn't quite get into the travelling bit, but to be far, we've landed now :P next chapter!! It's getting good, well I think so (modestly of course) maybe a review or two may speed chapter 6 along!!**


	6. Chapter 6

Ok, I know this has been a very long time coming and I do apologise, I have been extremely busy at the moment and other things

**Ok, I know this has been a very long time coming and I do apologise, I have been extremely busy at the moment and other things have taken priority meaning that this and my Robin Hood fan fic have been forgotten. I'm sorry, I hope readers enjoy the chapter and please review as always, I'd really like to get this moving quicker so when I find the time I'll try and make a conscious effort to write more down and get chapters posted up faster!!**

Silence.

The Street was deserted, a line of shops stood on the Doctor's right and then a row of houses was further down the street. Annie looked back at the Tardis; right in the middle of the road.

"Your parking skills are extraordinary!" she laughed.

"Hey!! It's not that bad!" Annie smirked "Besides" he continued "No one else is here!"

"Yeah, I noticed, where are we exactly?"

"Well…….." The Doctor took an intake of breath as he looked at his surrounding "I haven't got the foggiest" he announced, letting out his breath.

"Did you not look when we landed?"

The Doctor looked down at Annie and grinned. "Spoilers!"

Annie shrugged, and then began to walk off down the street.

"Hey! You can't leave me!" But Annie wasn't listening, she turned her face and grinned at him and then sauntered off and intently stared at a shop window. The Doctor ran over to her.

"Rule Number 1: No running off, what are you doing?"

"Finding out where you have taken us, look" she said pointing at a notice in the window, "It's selling black curtains!"

The Doctor looked at her as if she was mad. "That's great, I was thinking of getting some for the Tardis, or do you think blue will suit it better? Do they sell blue ones?" he looked at her and grinned.

Annie tutted, "And you call yourself a historian!"

"No! No No No No, I'm a Time Lord, not a historian!"

"We're in the middle of the blitz, look its silent, no one's here and they're selling black curtains!"

"I knew that"

"Of course, question is what's the date?" Annie walked through the shop door and walked over to where a pile of newspapers were stacked, the shop keeper looked slightly apprehensive as the Doctor wandered over to him.

"You wouldn't happen to know what the date was?" he said grinning.

"14th of October" The shopkeeper and Annie said in unison "1940"

Annie walked over to the Doctor and grabbed his arm, intending to manoeuvre him out the shop, instead she quickly removed her hand, and the Doctor looked at her. They both quickly left the shop.

"I thought a rule was never to ask the date, looks a tad suspicious if you ask me"

"I hadn't said that rule yet. Mainly because I don't follow it. I liked the newspapers though. Good idea." the two of them walked further down the street. "The question is why are we here?"

"Or more where are we?" Annie put in "Look" she said pointing up ahead "Balham Tube Station, wait that was bombed in the blitz, its still up! We can save it, we just need to convince the workers to close it down for the night" she said, her smile getting wider and wider as her idea developed "Think of the all the lives we can save!" she picked up her step and was about to break into a run when the Doctor grabbed her arm.

"No" he stated simply "We can't. Rule Number 2: No meddling with history. We would rewrite it, we can't do that."

"I don't understand, you could be a hero, a life-saver"

"Imagine your grandmother's…boyfriend is in there" Annie looked at the doctor quizzically "Bare with me for a minute"

"My grandma isn't that old!"

"Ok, your great-grandmother then! If her boyfriend is in there and then we save the tube station then she'll marry him and have children that maybe she wouldn't have had if he had died, see…she moves on has your grandma, your mother then you. See? You might not exist if you stop people from using that tube station tonight"

"Ok, I understand"

"Good"

The two travellers remained silent as the walked further down the road, nearing the corner bend, and then they heard it, the sound of the band and the doors to several houses opened. And as they turned the corner, passing the tube station that, that night would collapse, killing 65 civilians they were met with an Army March calling for men to join in the war.


	7. Chapter 7

**Again I find myself apologising for a lack of updates, I'm really sorry. My Merlin fic has really taken off and I sort of lost my love for this, but I refuse to stop writing this, as I do have it somewhat 'planned' out and intend on finishing this, not only for my own piece of mine but because I really do love this and I hope you readers do too. And I have ideas for sequels…my brain gets far too carried away for its own good.**

**Hope you enjoy this and please review.**

Chapter Seven

The Doctor and Annie moved over to the pavement and watched as the doors opened on the street and families flooded onto the pavement to wave at the soldiers marching by. Annie smiled at a young boy, barely 7 years old, trying to keep up in time with the march. Men continued to walk past them and the music never faded, kept on going, kept on calling for men to fight for their country.

Suddenly a thought came into Annie's mind "Aren't you worried they'll march into the TARDIS?"

The Doctor looked down at his new companion "Not worried in the slightest"

Annie just grinned, looking up into the eyes of a young soldier, a few years older than herself, and he smiled back, the young girl blushed slightly, trying to hide her embarrassment as the young man jogged out of line and come over to her. The doctor noticing what was going on, raised an eyebrow and sighed. Annie heard it and looked up at him out of the corner of her eye and smiled, turning her head to face the soldier. He delved into his breast-pocket pulling out a scrap of paper which had a few lines written on it, he held it out in his hand and Annie accepted it, she tried to look down to see what was written on it but was interrupted by the feel of his hand on her cheek, she looked up and he bent his head down to kiss her squarely on the lips. Slightly shocked she backed away and he grinned.

"I'm Peter Field"

"I'm Annie…Tate"

"We're all off to help fight, got to be quick" he nodded at Annie "Sorry for scaring you"

"No, just surprised that's all"

Peter grinned and then turned to go back to his army, he started to jog and then turned running backwards to look at Annie

"Write to me!" he called, and Annie understood what was written on the piece of paper she held in her hand. She waved at him and smiled as he turned round the corner and sprinted to find his place again.

"Fancy doing some detective work?" The doctor asked and Annie nodded, glad that he seemed oblivious to what had just happened.

"I'm Detective John Smith and this is my assistant Miss Tate" the doctor said for the fifth time, holding up the psychic paper for the woman to see, and again for the fifth time that day the door was closed in their faces. The doctor jogged down the front path and held open the gate for Annie to walk through. She pushed open the next house's gate and strolled up to the front door waiting for the doctor to arrive; he jumped up the step to the porch and knocked on the door with his fist.

"Unusual surname 'Tate', I like, its artsy" Annie smiled at him "Hello," the Doctor said to the woman who held open the door "I'm Detective Smith, this is my assistant Miss Tate" he said gesturing in Annie's direction with hand and holding the all important psychic paper in the other "Seen any unusual activities recently?" the woman looked blankly at him, "Strange characters, someone or something a bit out of place? – I'll take that as a no then" he said as the door once again closed in his face. Sighing the two walked down the house's path and out onto the street. It was then Annie noticed the young boy, not too dissimilar from the one who had been marching along here a little while ago.

"Not getting far, odd, can't work out why we're here, we should be here for a reason. Something should have dragged us here…"

"Help me" The doctor stopped talking and looked down at the young boy Annie was looking at.

"How can we help you?" she asked.

"Help me"

"How?" she knelt down in front of the little boy and looked into his eyes. Blankness.

"Doctor…" she said, looking up at him, with one eye still focused on to the boy, but the Doctor wasn't looking at her, he was looking at the little boy's hand, and the distinctive scar that spread across it.

"RUN!" he screamed, pulling Annie up from the pavement, and yanking her with him. Annie sensed that is was urgent and thoughts were quickly racing through her mind as she reached the TARDIS and the doctor jammed the key in the door, trying to get it to turn, finally after a fair few attempts it twisted and the pair fell into the TARDIS.

"This is impossible; completely ridiculous" the Doctor said swinging the console's screen round "This can't be happening not again, unless we are in a parallel universe, but the void couldn't have broken, unless someone had forced their way through, but the two universes would have collapsed, and she can't have worked out how to do it" Annie gulped, looking down at her feet "Oooo, or a greater force has cloned the past, therefore making another sub-universal existence. But the only ones who'd think of doing such a thing are trapped in the void, this is ridiculous, history can't repeat!" The Doctor looked at Annie who was intently staring at her feet and a light blush had spread across her cheeks

"Sorry, going too fast aren't I? It's just I've dealt with these…creatures before"

"But he was just a boy"

"Asking for help, last time it was his mummy"

"Can't we help him?"

"No! No, absolutely not, he'll hurt you, but he's different this time. No gas mask for a start, but that scar's still there…"

The Doctor looked back at his screen and tried to figure where he had taken them to.

"Are you going to take me home now?"

"Do you want to go back? It would be safer"

"No!" Annie stared at the doctor who looked slightly shocked at her outburst, she lowered her voice and tried to remain calm "I'm happy here, I don't want to go back, please don't make me go back"

"I won't" he reassured her, "You'll stay with me"

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The TARDIS door swung open and for the second time that day Annie and the Doctor walked out to see the sun shining on the 14th of October 1940. The Doctor had 're-parked' the TARDIS down a side street, after they had received a number of odd glances, he felt it was somewhat safer down here and away from public view.

He delved into his pocket and rummaged around trying to find his special tool. Annie watched as he drew out his sonic screwdriver and set off and turned to face her.

"Ready to go alien-hunting?" he grinned his wide grin and she felt safe.

Holding the sonic screwdriver before him, buzzing and all lit up blue, they paced down a side street following the screwdrivers noises and the Doctor's instincts.

"Time Lord and a detective" he grinned at Annie as she spoke "Bit greedy isn't it?" she smirked and he laughed, they walked down another turning, twisting around, past rows of houses and small little shop fronts, just following the screwdriver.

"Has to be somewhere near" he said, though it sounded as if he was talking more to himself rather than to anyone else "Unusual for it to be alone…how many aliens do you think it takes to run a ship?"

"Is that a joke?" Annie smiled, the Doctor grinned and she decided it wasn't "I don't know, I thought two, but you seem to manage by yourself"

The Doctor's grin slowly turned into a solemn frown and the pair walked in silence for a moment

"But numbers are important, you can tell a lot from a number, very useful"

"Like cryptic messages?"

"Yes or a person's favourite number says a lot about the person, and then there's all the maths jargon"

"Oi, I like the maths jargon!" he teased.

The sonic screwdriver led them down another path and straight into a little boy

"Help me"

"RUN!"

Re-tracing their steps they ran back, through the alleys ad twists and turns

"We seem to run a lot" Annie pointed out

"Good for your heart" the Doctor laughed as he pulled Annie down another side walk

"Heart_s_"

"What?"

Annie looked blankly at the Doctor "Plural…you…and me. You know…both together, us two and… our hearts…plural"

"Right"

"Numbers! Again…."

The Doctor simply grinned and led the way onto the main street where he had previously 'parked' the TARDIS. The pair both looked around as if they had expected to find the young boy following them. The looked own the street to Balham Tube station

"Best get out of here before tonight" The Doctor looked at the sky, and saw the sun beating down from the middle of the sky signalling midday, the sun; a constant moving watch.

Annie smirked silently to herself, almost a tut, or more a slight sound of surprise or enlightenment

"What?" the doctor questioned

"You say you look for trouble, yet when you look it in the face you run from it and hide"

"You wouldn't understand, you only have one life, and it's my job to protect that life of yours"

"A moment ago you acted like a detective, leaving a mystery have unravelled isn't the way a detective leaves his work"

"You will risk your life to find out what is happening here, or to figure, more to the point, what is wrong and where on earth – or perhaps universe – we are"

"Yes" Annie nodded wholeheartedly, as if she had never been so sure of something in her life, as if in that decision, that choice, that nod, she had made her mark in history, made herself part of history; part of ti


	8. Chapter 8

**As always (it seems) apologies for the gap between chapters. I know this is a little short but I hope you like it anyway.**

**Please read and ****review****.**

Chapter Eight

"Do you ever wonder what life would have been like if you hadn't been a Time Lord?"

The Doctor looked at Annie and smiled at her, they sat on the edge of the pavement, near the Tardis, waiting.

"No, well, not really. I more wonder what it would have been like if I hadn't made certain decisions." he looked out into the street though his mind was a million miles away.

"You sound like you regret something"

"No"

Annie looked down at the pavement and the Doctor refocused his gaze on her.

"Some thing's are out of your own control" he stated

Annie nodded slightly. "But if you want something hard enough then surely you can find a way to achieve it?"

"Sometimes things are out of reach, they fly before your eyes, fly into the unknown and you can't get them back. No matter how much you want to"

Annie smiled gently at him.

"So what about you then?" The Doctor asked

"What about me?"

"Tell me about yourself!"

"Well, my name's Annie Tate – though you know that already – I have no middle name, so my name is just 9 letters long"

"Numbers" The Doctor murmured, smiling.

"Yes. I've always wanted to travel, since I was very young." she said wistfully, gazing out on to the street, like the Doctor had just a few moments ago "I haven't done anything, nothing's happened. Nothing at all. Nothing special, nothing extraordinary. And now I've met you" she turned to face the Doctor and smiled and he grinned back.

"We've been waiting for a long time for the boy to come back" Annie observed

"He's not a boy" The Doctor faced became solemn very quickly "He's just something that should not be here"

"Do you wonder if maybe we're the ones who aren't supposed to be here?"

The Doctor looked at Annie in the eyes and she looked down at the pavement "We must be here for some reason; something must have dragged us here"

"Doctor, we don't even know where here is"

"Well…it's somewhere"

Annie laughed and the Doctor grinned at her. He stood up, and jumped to wake up all his dead muscles, his red converse flashing from under his trousers, and then he twirled round, the tails on his coat spinning and offered his hand to help Annie up. She happily accepted and shook her legs once she had risen. The pair had been sitting on the edge for the pavement for quite some time waiting for a little boy. A little boy who had not turned up.

The pair strolled down the street, not looking for anything in particular, but wondering where that little boy had disappeared to.

What they didn't know was that it wasn't just a little boy; it was a whole host of them.

And they were waiting, just waiting for the right moment to strike.

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Martha signed her name at the bottom of a patient's record and slipped the clipboard back in its appropriate place.

"There we are Mr. Clare, you might begin to feel slightly drowsy from the drugs but your arm should heal in no time now we have a cast on it. Due to your age, we'll keep you in over night for observation but you should be able to return home tomorrow morning" she flashed a smile at the elderly gentleman, his wispy grey hair a tangled mess on his head, and he looked rather dazed.

"Ah, I think there are a few visitors here to see you Mr. Clare" Martha smiled as she beckoned in two children and their parents.

A chorus of "Granddad!" rang out as the young girl and boy clambered onto the bed.

Martha smiled at the happy family and walked away from the joyous scene, wondering whether her Doctor would be experiencing the same happiness.


	9. Chapter 9

**Wow, can't believe we've reached the end! This took some time to get off the ground but then it recieved a fair few reviews for the first chapter alone, my first fic at the time to do so! I just wanted to say thanks for all your reviews and subscriptions and all those anonymous readers who may be reading this without reviewing.**

**This chapter doesn't quite signal the end, i suppose i could leave it here but I'm going to write an epilogue, explaining everything. This chapter is however the last real one and the fact that this fic ends on a chapter 9 is no coincedience! Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this last chapter and review and look forward to the short epilogue to come!**

**Thank you all, this is for you all.**

* * *

Chapter Nine

"We have to leave now!" The Doctor said straightening the monitor to look at the screen. Annie looked up at the Time Rotor as it began to move and the familiar crank of engines began to roar to life.

* * *

They had been walking down the street, looking down at the tube station when they'd all arrived, the light had turned to twilight and the buildings were starting to cast shadows across the road.

They hadn't appeared from anywhere in particular and the Doctor and Annie hadn't seen them at first, but then he'd realised and when he'd spun around he saw them behind them as well. Instinctively he got close enough to Annie and as their arms brushed an electric shock had run up the length of both of their limbs. Stepping away slightly the Doctor spun on the spot trying to search for an escape route, a hole in the wall of empty children.

Annie focused her gaze on a set before her, five children walking equal distances apart from each other and walking at the same pace. A steady pace, a silent pace, their footsteps not making a sound. She turned her frightened gaze to the shop that earlier that day she and the Doctor had gone into, the shop with the newspapers where this adventure had begun. Before the Army March, before the house knocking, before she had met the first empty child, before they had run into the Tardis trying to work out where they were, before numbers, before their road-side conversation, before the running; before it all. The shop was closed, and the shop next to it, the houses had no lights on though it was dark, it was the blitz she reminded herself, they weren't supposed to but suddenly this seemed a little stranger, the order of the footsteps, the door slams to their house calls. The empty responses, the empty feet, the empty shops and the empty roads. It had all been hiding behind this event of the blitz but it was that; nothing. They had travelled into nothing.

This was not anywhere. Annie turned to the Doctor and if he could tell what was on her mind he nodded as if he finally understood where they were. But he did not understand why.

* * *

Martha pulled the curtain around one patient and turned to another. She smiled at the girl as she asked her several questions referring to the cut on her forehead and then signed the forms on her clipboard signalling that the 16-year-old would need stitches. Asking a passing nurse for a needle and thread she progressed to the desk and put an old patient's record away.

Working in A&E was never short of catastrophes, never did a day go by without something eventful occurring but it wasn't the adventure that Martha yearned for not the adventure she wanted.

She thought, turning back to the blonde girl who needed stitches whether a girl of a similar age and appearance would be having such an amazing time as she did or whether she had made a mistake in sending her off with the Doctor. She wondered whether that girl had known what she was letting herself in for when she set off in the Tardis.

But then she remembered the hug she had received and the whispered "Thank you" she had heard and the look on that girl's face when she had realised she was about to travel to unknown places. The way her face had lit up when she had stepped inside the Doctor's ship.

And for the first time Martha wondered if there was such a thing as fate or destiny.

* * *

To send your child off to an unknown place is a risk mothers would not normally take.

But she knew where she was heading and she knew that soon enough he would find her.

* * *

He withdrew his precious sonic screwdriver from his pocket and hoped that his faithful tool would produce the goods.

He did not feel her hand touch his so he did not know that she had caused the Tardis to appear behind them, but when he heard those engines he knew that it was all alright. And he simply believed that his screwdriver had done it all by itself.

Rushing inside the travelling companions hoped that they would get away in time. They hoped that emptiness could not reach the Tardis.

Annie had slammed the door behind her and ran up the ramp where the Doctor had already begun to press levers and buttons. "We have to leave now!" The Doctor said straightening the monitor to look at the screen. Annie looked up at the Time Rotor as it began to move and the familiar crank of engines began to roar to life.

And that's when I knew we were leaving and the greatest day was coming to an end.

* * *

Martha rushed from one patient to another. Calming one elderly man down and consoling a family whose son did not make it through surgery. Sewing stitches and sending other patients for X-rays. Records and clipboards passed through her hands so fast it was like they were grains of sand running through her fingers. And all the while she thought of him and her.

And then if destiny or fate really did exist the pair in her thoughts walked through the entrance doors.

* * *

They had stepped down the ramp together and nervously Annie had opened the Tardis door, The Doctor peered behind her and watched as the place they had just visited broke into segments, a place of nothing collapsed and broke away; its purpose fulfilled.

The Balham Tube Station crash was never going to happen. No one had ever truly existed there, it was a place for the two companions to visit, and once they had left it was going to self-destruct. And so as they flew away from it, it broke apart, shattering into the atmosphere, its empty existence becoming nothing, emptiness becoming dust and dust becoming nothing. And all the while the Doctor and Annie watched as the place they had visited – their first adventure together – came to an end.

It was as they watched, as Annie stood in front of an open door in front of an open universe, a site few get to witness that a piece of the empty universe came hurtling towards here and knocked her out.

And then there was silence.

* * *

He carried her in his arms, and Martha dropped the records she had been holding and ran to the entrance doors to attend to the patient.

He dutifully followed her to a bed and carefully laid down his load.

Martha asked a few questions; name, age and the like but there was little he could answer. And he suddenly realised that he had no idea who this 'Annie' was or where on earth she came from.

Martha kicked into doctor-mode and began her inspections all the while listening to what the Doctor was saying.

"We watched the thing explode, self-destruct, and then this piece of rock hurtled through the atmosphere at her. Oh, I was stupid; I should have thought that…is she going to be ok? ...But that world shouldn't have existed, I was blind! I should have realised before that it wasn't safe, but she wanted to stay! Why did she want to stay? Are you sure she doesn't need surgery or something or -"

"Doctor" Martha cut through his babble "She has a mild concussion but she'll be fine. Go and get some fresh air and a drink and I'll find you if she wakes up"

And so Annie was in hospital. Laid out bare to see. But still not completely open.

* * *

I could hear various voices around me, soft whispers, loud screams, and sharp orders. Many sets of wheels being manoeuvred around, curtains pulling back and forth, clipboards clattering, machines beeping. I could feel myself, my limbs, I could wriggle my toes and squeeze my hands and I could still hear that irritating beep sounding from somewhere on my right. Sometimes I heard my name being spoken. Sometimes it was her kind, gentle voice, other times an unknown tone and once it was his voice. I will never forget that voice.

Martha watched as the young girl's eyes began to flutter open. She smiled as the blonde teenager squinted against the sharp, bright light and she knew that everything was going to be alright. She moved slightly closer to the girl on the bed and watched as her eyes adjusted to her surroundings

"Hello" she said and was rewarded with a small smile from Annie as if her voice was what she wanted to her, urged on by Annie's smile Martha continued "A piece of a planet hit your head" she smirked slightly, realising how silly that sounded. Annie smiled again and Martha wandered around her bed, looking at machines and fiddling with the IV drip.

"You know you should tell him" she said, catching Annie completely off guard.

"Hm?"

"Once you've told him, you feel a lot better"

"Told who what?"

"The Doctor, to be honest he probably already knows on some level"

"Knows what?"

"That you love him." Martha stopped and looked at her puzzled patient "It's much better out in the open and then you can travel together on the same wavelength"

"You think that I ---?"

Martha simply smiled "I felt the same way but it's all right. It's unrequited love but all the same. He's still in love with a past companion. Her name was Rose, Rose Tyler"

Martha saw the colour begin to run back into Annie's face.

"Martha, I don't --"

Annie's sentence was cut off by the curtain drawing back and the Doctor entering the make-shift cubicle.

"You're awake!" he exclaimed and his infamous grin resurfaced on his face.

Annie smiled "Yes"

"How are you feeling?"

"Well my head's a bit sore" Annie said, instinctively putting her fingertips to the scar that ran along her forehead above her left eyebrow.

"Try to avoid touching it" Martha cut in.

"But otherwise I'm fine" she finished.

"Nothing out of the ordinary" he joked smiling at her.

Martha finished all her observations and had noted it all on the clipboard, placing it back she raised her eyebrows at Annie and the Doctor noticed the unspoken conversation going on between the two women.

"Have I missed something here?"

"Annie has something she would like to…share" Martha nodded

Annie opened her eyes wide at Martha and shook her head "No, I've said everything!"

"I think she has…feelings for you" Martha butted in.

The Doctor looked towards Annie with half-sympathetic eyes.

Annie sighed slightly and shook her head as much as she could without inflicting pain upon herself "Really, it's not what you think. I don't love you, well not in that way. And I know that you still love Rose, well at least I think you do, and I hope you do. I just…"

Martha was about to back out of the space and give the pair room but something made her stay.

Annie looked desperately at the Doctor.

"I don't love you in that way" she stated

"Ok" he said quietly.

"For valid reasons" she added.

The Doctor said nothing, but the silence was an invitation. Inviting Annie to tell him why it was she could not love him like that. It was the invitation she had been waiting for. But now it was here she did not know how to say it.

So she simply stated the fact.

She told him the truth.

"Because…because you're my father"


	10. Epilogue

**So here's how it all ends, i hope you all enjoyed this, I've really enjoyed writing this epilogue and hope that everything's explained.**

**Thank you for reading this and reviewing! This is it then...**

Epilogue

"Do you have any idea?

The way he looked at us, the look on his face; the disgust, the worry, the confusion. And all the while all I could think of was you and how she was never going to be normal.

She has one and a half hearts, how could I even begin to tell her why? How could I explain to her why she is different from everyone else, why when they teach her biology, anatomy doesn't refer to her, why she is singled out and is different from everyone she knows?

Doctor Phipps became the only one we could tell, the only one we could trust and if he wasn't there then she just got sick.

It is so hard to have to rely on one person for your child's health.

Like she relied on me.

You don't have a clue what it is like to not give your daughter the one thing she wants.

It started when she was 6, I could buy her all the other presents but not the one thing she wanted, I could not get her the one thing she wanted on her list. It breaks your heart as a parent not to be able to provide the very thing your child desires, wants, needs.

And each birthday and Christmas she would put that simple word on her list.

'Dad'

And each time she would go to sleep at the end of the day with everything but what she wanted.

You feel that you have failed your child as a mother when that thing no longer appears on her list. When after 10 years of asking you still haven't given them what they wish for; what they deserve."

Rose had looked into the Doctor's eyes. Her words cut him hard. And reminded him of all the times he had not been there, all the things he had missed all the things he had not experienced.

"So when Jack came with an answer, when we had got a solution to the barrier that was the void I sent her through, knowing that eventually you would come back to earth and praying you would find her."

The Doctor had looked back down at the hospital floor and scanned his eyes across the swirly pattern, the lino gleaming and shiny. He looked up at Rose across the corridor from him. She was looking at a point on the wall above his head.

"I knew what you would do when you found out, that's why she changed her name, who she was. And now you know, the adventure is over, the years of waiting have come to an end. Go and do what I know you'll do."

The Doctor had stood up, his shoes squeaking on the too clean floor.

"I'm sorry" he whispered.

Rose looked into the depth of his eyes and he thought he saw he nod ever so slightly, but he was never sure.

And then he turned to leave. He took a few steps forward and then turned around to see Rose still sat there, still holding on the tears that would fall onto her cheeks.

"What's her real name?"

"Hope. Hope Tyler"

His head began to whir

A-N-N-I-E T-A-T-E

H-O-P-E T-Y-L-E-R

"9 letters" he mumbled "Numbers"

And with that he turned and left. He did what they knew he would do. He turned away.

And I watched him; the Doctor walk away from me. Him. The man who changed my life, who made me who I am. Him; The doctor.

It all started in a café. Just a normal café. Nothing special, just a café. It all ended in a hospital; ironic considering he called himself a Doctor.

I watched through the ward window as the one thing I had wanted for all those years, the one name upon my birthday list walked away. I wanted to walk away but Jack's arms held me where I stood. I could have listened to gran's mutterings: "I'm gonna knock him round the head". But I blocked them out. I could have turned and looked at my mother and watched her tears cascade down her cheeks, but I watched him, watched him climb into his Tardis and leave this world. And leave us in the real world. I had grown up in a parallel universe, I had jumped into the real world, I had travelled to a sub-universe; an empty existence and he had left me where the adventure had begun; Real Earth.

He had told me that "Sometimes things are out of reach" but he hadn't known the truth when he spoke it. He hadn't known that mum was waiting for him, that she was in his reach. And he's still in ours.

I watched him leave and I'll watch him return.

Because I'm not drifting, I'm waiting for the right man, I've seen him, I've met him just once and then I watched him fly away. He's still out there and I'll find him. He's out there, burning through time facing a thousand dangers across the stars and never giving up and his name is the Doctor. The Time-Lord from Gallifrey; my father. He'll come back and this time I'll be ready.

And when you see him, tell me. Because he'll be back. Because he always comes back.

And then we'll be gone.


End file.
